Hahahahaha, John.

John: there will be NO ROOM for the Holy Spirit
John: not even if He went on a diet
John: and made reservations

Christmas Update!

For Christmas Eve, it is the usual tradition that we go to my Mimi and Pappy's and see my mom's side of the family. It is equally traditional that my mom hates it. This year was a bit better because we didn't stay for dinner, and my aunts and uncles were interested to hear about John, so I had something more enjoyable to talk about than what I'm going to do after graduation. We didn't stay for a proper dinner after all, but left early and hung out at home before attending a 9pm candlelight service and the Presbyterian church where Robert now works.

Christmas was fairly small as far as gifts (although my laptop was a combination birthday/Christmas gift)--money, gift cards, earphones from KJ, a monogrammed shot glass from Lauren (:P), a massive book on American artists from my aunt, a funny little Christmas-themed cutting board from my Nana, and a set of pens from Mom and Robert so I can write their wedding invitations! My stocking also contained these stunning little gold post earrings with sapphires and diamonds in them. So small and delicate, but one of the favorite things I received. Not too shabby. Plus, I know John has something big and spectacular coming (he's only been bragging about it since Fall Break--SERIOUSLY). So, I'm feeling fairly lame about my just-under-medium-sized gift in comparison, but I think (hope) he'll like it. :)

Christmas Day itself is spent at my Dad's in the morning, then at his youngest sister's (it was the first Christmas without middle sister Suzanne), and Lauren, KJ, and I get to catch up with our cousins and eat some delicious brunch. Yum, yum.

We spent Christmas night at home with a yummy turkey dinner by Mom and some family bonding.

Overall a rather uneventful Christmas, but not an unpleasant one. This weekend was nice because I got to sing two fantastic songs for trio with Robert and Mom, then catch up with Abby C, Joey V. and Brandon, and I got to take care of 65% of my TJ Maxx gift card and get some DELIGHTFUL dark-wash jeans that fit me like a dream (yaaay!) and a couple new undergarments (also yay, as I am hard to fit!). Not a bad way to spend the day. However, I've managed to not eat at all today, so I'm going to rectify that situation!

Also, John gets in again tomorrow night! Woo!

Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday! :D

Merry Christmas!

He is born!

:D

More updates later/tomorrow on gifts, festivities, etc.!

Love,
-A.

Hark, how the bells, sweet silver bells, all seem to say 'Throw cares away'...

I'm home and settled in for the most part--John was here from Thursday to Monday and met my Dad, his wife Lisa and her daughter Sam, Robert, KJ, Em, Drea, Joey V., Bess, Abby C. and her boyfriend Greg, not to mention RE-meeting my SACI roommates Emily, Christine and Ulyssa.

We got in around 4:15 and unpacked and relaxed with KJ and Mom and Robert until about 5:30 when we drove up to my Dad's for his 49th (!) birthday dinner! Dad and Lisa really liked John, which was nice ("What's not to like?" -My mom).

After that, we met up with Drea and Eat 'N' Park (which looks all Panera-fied and not greasy/seedy AT ALL anymore, which is upsetting), and soon accumulated a few more people: Joey, Em, and Bess. When Drea, Em, and Bess has to leave, Joey gave John a very involved quiz to prove his worth. :P It was pretty great, ranging from "What is Alyssa's favorite color?" to "Do you like 'Jersey Shore'?" (PLUS A GA-GRILLION POINTS) It was fun. :D

John met Ab and Greg on Sunday night--it was a casual visit, and John was pretty quiet for the whole thing, but it was so good to catch up with Abby and see Greg again!

Monday night was great--John and I went to the South Side and met up with Emily, Christine and Uly at S Bar. We caught up and talked and it was SO good to see them (I haven't seen them since APRIL! WHAT? Almost eight months?!). They're all doing well and are all happy. It was really good to reconnect.

John left on Monday around 1, and I'm already ready for him to come back! He and Lauren didn't get to meet because Lauren was in Ohio this weekend visiting friends. But they'll both be here on the 29th to meet! Pretty exciting!

We also got our Christmas tree, but our (working) lights only cover about 2/3 of the tree. Class. :P

Cheese-tastic aside (Lauren, skip to the end :P): Since being with John, I've really begun to understand what Godly love is. I always knew God loved me, but I had no idea what that love felt like to palpably give and receive until I got into a relationship with John. He's really made me realize what it means to commit and to take chances but also feel entirely sure and confident in myself and in my relationship. He proves to me (even more) how completely God takes care of His people. I'm so thankful, and so happy. I love him! Yay!

Hope you all have an amazing and merry Christmas!

Love,

-A.

Updated the Art Blog with thesis stuff!

Check it out!

ALMOST DONE WOOOOO!

One more exam to go! I am so psyched.

To my acute embarrassment, I was the only person in my Lab course to not sell a single thing at ArtMarket. This was bad enough, but then I had to present that fact to the entire class. Not so fun. But it's over, and hopefully that won't aversely affect my grade.

In other news...well, there isn't much news. I'm just really excited to be going home and taking John. :D

Hope you're all having some happy holiday prep!

Love,

-A.

Why I Love Brian, Parts Sixteen and Seventeen.

Brian: I've decided I'm retracting my entire Christmas list and just asking for a Melanie Laurent. I think my family should be able to swing that.

Me: Inglourious Basterds girl? But she's Jewish. You'll have to get her for Hanukkah.

Brian: Hmm, true!

Me: It's the fourth night of Hanukkah tonight...good luck! :P

Brian: I'm going to quickly convert. Actually would it be converting if I wasn't really anything now?

Me: Yeah, for sure. Jews are serious as hell about converts.

Brian: Okay. Then I'll convert. Ehhh, I cant do serious. I don't think they'd be all about my conversion when they hear my reasons: "Hi, I'd like to convert...why you ask? Oh so hopefully on the 5th night of Hannukah I'll get one of your hottest products as a gift!"

@@@

Me: Doing anything for Mike's birthday?

Brian: Going to get wings.

Me: Fun! with who else?

Brian: No idea.

Me: Lacie's totally joining you guys right? Or is she jumping out of the cake?

Brian: Oh, I hope.

Me: Hahahahahaha! How hysterical.

Brian: I mean, I paid her 50 bucks to...I'd be pretty upset if she reneged on the offer.

New Art Blog!

Time to get legitimate:

http://alyssadevlinart.blogspot.com

In the next four days (FOUR DAYS), I'll be finishing a paper, a brand write-up and two written exams. Not sure how much time I'll have to update before I'm done with those, but wish me luck! :D

-A.

Art Market Schtuff.

ArtMarket starts tomorrow--here's my stuff!

I'm pretty pleased with the way it's turned out. Obviously it could be better, but my budget only allows for so much! Hope to see you at ArtMarket!

My sister is a real person, I promise.

hello. this is alyssa's sister. i have laid down some ground rules for your trip in the next few weeks. and she has told me i must relay them to you myself. soo this is with the best intentions.

1. no kissing in front of me at ANY TIME ("forgetting this rule does not excuse the behavior")
2. no doing anything affectionate in or around my room. including "stuff"

failure to abide by these rules will result in me punching Alyssa in the face.

thanks! can't wait to meet you.

@@@

Lauren sent this to John today. She is not joking. This is simultaneously hilarious and disturbing.

People who don't know Lauren are always a little disbelieving of my description. I wonder if I showed them this, if it would get the point across better. :P

-A.

ETA: John's response:

Ground rules are very important. YOUR ground rules doubly so. Therefore I will comply with your requirements with the utmost and furthest reaches of my ability. However, since your sister's face is on the line, I ask to raise a few points:

1. Does the 'kissing' in Item 1 cover all iterations of the term, or are you implying kissing on the lips?

2. Am I only prohibited from kissing Alyssa? Will I get penalized for kissing other things, including (but not limited to) a frozen lamp post, a dog, or your butt?

3. Will I be penalized under Article 2 for just apathetic "stuff"? Is a mutual feeling of affection a requisite?

4. Is there a specific area of Alyssa's face that will be subject to punching? Her forehead or nose, perhaps? Or is she subject to general battery?

Thank you for your concern in my visit. I seriously would not want to offend you or those closest to you. All necessary precautions will be applied.

I am also excited to meet you.

ETA2: Lauren's Reply:

Thank you for your questions:

1. Kissing means alll kissing. face, hands, et cetera.

2. If you were to kiss random items around our quaint little town I would be forced to think you are a weirdo, and you would no longer be welcome within 50 ft of me.

3. I don't know what number 3 means.

4. This will be determined due to the severity of the crime.

Christmas Cheer!

Today was the first snow of the season. I woke up at 11:45am (I had a grave shift last night--as if I get up earlier on any other day) to the sounds of my roommates gushing over the snowfall. I got out of bed and peered through my window to find, not the flurries I'd expected, but fat snowflakes falling heavily past me. And there were a LOT of them. The whole street looked all the colors were seen through a white screen. Very pretty and very exciting! John was not nearly as interested, as I was disturbing his sleep so he would get up and check it out. :P

Today has been an unsettling day all around, although I've gotten most of my books covered for ArtMarket--I need to get more paper tomorrow to finish the rest. I'm making belly bands now, and Monday I'll borrow red gocco ink from the Illustration office (or maybe buy some tomorrow--we'll see). Ha, the thrilling life I lead. Also, my toilet flooded. PAIN IN THE BUTT. Especially when we didn't have a plunger and had to borrow one from our neighbors. Awesome.

I also had a nice break at my friend Josh's--he and his roommate Sam invented a little thing they call "Cage Match": they invite a group over to watch three terrible Nic Cage movies (are there any GOOD ones? I don't equate 'enjoyable' with 'good'.) and make fun of them. If you see something that has appeared in one or more Nic Cage movies other than the one you're watching, you yell "Cage Match!" and say what the thing is. For example: "Cage Match! Far younger and more attractive women falling in love with Nic Cage!" or "Cage Match! Nic Cage voiceover!" It's a lot of fun.

I only stayed for one movie tonight, though (Next, which is godawful, but really fun in a group)--I might've stayed for more, except that I have quite a workload, and I got one of THOSE text messages from my roommate Emily. One of those "can we talk?" messages--so basically I couldn't enjoy any more movie after that. Why not just wait until I got home? I hate the "We need to talk", because it automatically means "DANGER WILL ROBINSON".

Now, Emily is by-and-large very easy to live with, save that she has trouble picking her battles, so these confrontations happen pretty much every other day over minor things--dishes, milk, etc. Today was actually valid, though, so I was obviously receptive--I must say, I make it VERY easy on people when they have an issue with me--and it was solved with not too much weirdness, thank God. (Although my own accountability to my beliefs was sort of called into question. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but also not really her business--which she acknowledged, to her credit.)

And now, for the belly bands. Two weeks left of school, and I have SO MUCH to do. NO MORE SOCIAL LIFE, ALYSSA. I need to adopt the Cinderella attitude--although cleaning would be more pleasant and less time-consuming.

Good night!

-A.

After a loooong hiatus: Why I Love Brian, Part Fifteen!

Brian: If you ever catch me wearing a shirt/tie combo as ugly as he's wearing. I want you to do away with me. Finish me off.

Me: You bet. I'd hang you with that awful tie.

Brian: Honestly, I'm more concerned about the shirt. Good Lord, is it ugly.

Me: His birthday's coming up. We should send him a gift card to GAP.

Brian: Haha, beat me to it.

@@@

Brian: Do you know how many times I've watched the 'Male Prima Donna" video? The answer would be too many, if that were possible.

A little venting that's been building up over nearly three and a half years. (Also, template re-do!)

I’ve always doubted my talent in the visual arts. I’m quite sure of my singing talent, and decently confident in my acting abilities (usually), but I’ve never quite sat comfortably with my art.

I like my art just fine, for the most part, but it’s difficult to attend such an amazing school where you see so many fantastic people making this gorgeous, seemingly effortless work constantly. MICA does a good job of not fostering a comparative or competitive spirit, particularly within the illustration department, but I’ve always had that tendency without any help. I have a very hard time not comparing myself to my fellow classmates, for better or for worse (usually for worse).

I acknowledge that I am absolutely not the most talented student in my year and major. Most days I’m not sure I’m even in the top 50%, which is disheartening, as I’ve chosen this for my career. My mom (oh, moms) assures me I’m way too hard on myself, but I’m not so sure. After all, she isn’t here all the time, seeing what I see. Plus, she’s my MOM.

I get disappointed in myself. I know a large part of my disappointment has to do with my own lack of work ethic, which is a start. This is an issue I need to solve, and soon. However, people outside of the art community don’t seem to understand how difficult and time-consuming art really is. Try having to complete multiple pieces within a week or two. These artworks must be smart, conceptual, beautiful, individual, and perfectly-crafted. I admit, I wasn’t aware of what art was going to demand of me when MICA first accepted me.

When I arrived home after my first semester at MICA, most of my friends asked a similar question: ‘How do you grade art?’ With all of the things I mentioned above; all the effort and intelligence and beauty. Sort of like Miss America. Haha, just kidding. Miss Americas aren’t intelligent. :P

It’s a challenge, and it’s often a really fun challenge. Sophomore year was the most fun for me—the projects were usually small, quirky, useful assignments: editorial, mostly. My Narrative Illustration class helped me turn out some of my best work because I’m passionate about characters and stories. It’s a good feeling, seeing your work improve. But it’s hard to keep that confidence up when that improvement still hasn’t raised you to a level where you can compete professionally with your collegues.

I nurse a strange paranoia in myself. At MICA—at any art school—we critique artwork. Not only in class, but amongst ourselves—we rank out who can draw and who can’t. I have this feeling that my closest friends at MICA (exceptionally talented designers and artists in their own right) privately think of me as the least talented among us. I may be entirely out of my mind in thinking that (actually most of my friends haven’t seen my work due to this very insecurity), but it’s a feeling I can’t shake.

To change tack, I’m not sure I can say that I’m passionate about art. Maybe about portraits. I’m not sure I can say I’m passionate about MY art. I enjoy doing it, certainly, and I often like what I do. I love looking at beautiful art, but I’m the first to say I’m a strict classicist with little to no interest in contemporary fine art. I’ve felt passionate about people and about singing, but I’m not sure I’ve felt that same rush about art. Perhaps it’s because I’ve never really expressed myself artistically.

The closest I’ve ever come to doing so was in a thirty-page comic book/diary I drew while I was in Florence, Italy this past Spring. It was funny and cute and sometimes sad, and my artwork made some huge strides, and I was happy with the product, but I’m hesitant to call what I do ‘expressive’.

Or maybe I’m just being a giant WEENIE. Thoughts?

Thanksgiving was lovely (the soup went over well!) and TOO SHORT. But I can’t wait for this semester to be over so I can take John home to my family! :D

I got to talk to Em and Drea this week, for the first time in a babillion years. I’ve been realizing lately how close I am to them, and how much closer I’ve stayed to them as my MICA friends have shifted. I love you guys!

Overall, I’m happy, if stressed with all the effing work I have to do before the semester’s end:

-At least 15 pages of thesis work done, plus a few pages inked plus final critique.
-10 page paper for Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt plus a final exam.
-Objectivity final exam.
-ArtMarket and final Lab critique.

BLAH.

Wish me luck.

Lots and lots of love,
-A.